1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a charging cable-housing device and a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various technical ideas regarding charging plugs have been proposed. For example, a charging plug structure described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-112076 (JP-A-2009-112076) includes: a charging plug to detachably connect a connecting plug of an external electric power source; a grommet to hold the charging plug onto a vehicle body; and a charging wire harness to electrically connect the charging plug and a vehicle-mounted battery.
In the foregoing charging plug structure, the charging wire harness is constructed so as to maintain the electrical connection between the battery and the charging plug even when the charging plug is detached from the grommet and is moved apart from the vehicle; on the other hand, when the charging plug is held by the grommet, the charging wire harness is wound on a winding reel of an electric cord reel unit.
Besides, in an electric vehicle described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-244832 (JP-A-2003-244832), a battery is charged through the use of a winding-type charging cord. The charging cord is attached to a drum.
In the charging plug structure described in JP-A-2009-112076, the charging wire harness is led out from a portion below the winding reel, and is connected to the charging plug.
When the charging plug is moved apart from the vehicle, the charging wire harness is pulled out from the winding reel.
In this case, the charging wire harness is likely to curve near the winding reel due to its own weight, and that may cause degradation of the charging wire harness.
The charging cord described in JP-A-2003-244832 is wound on the drum so that the charging cord is extracted out from a lower portion of the drum.
Therefore, when the charging cord is pulled out, the charging cord will curve near the drum, and that may cause degradation of the charging cord.